Nummy Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

What a week it has been! I made these last weekend and am just now getting around to sharing them with you all.

I haven't cooked since Tuesday which ended up being an evening of cooking for the monthly potluck at work the next day (I made those really good Stuffed Zucchini again, only I cooked them in the oven instead of the grill).

Wednesday Sir Sportsalot decided I needed a night out for 1/2 priced margaritas. I had 3. Lets put it this way...I was shit faced for under $10. (ya baby!! gotta love a cheap date!! even if you're married to her!!! hahahahaha)

Thursday, Natalie and I went out for a girls night in Hollywood (which will require a post of its own...you'll find out why later).

Anyways....Here I am, finally, ready to tell you about the yummiest cinnamon rolls ever! I don't think if I've ever actually had homemade cinnamon rolls. I do know I've never made them before. But let me tell you, they rock!!!

Where did I get this wonderful recipe you ask? Well, let me tell you. I very sweet lady that shall be called Magicalrain shared them with me. You can see her recipe here. She was also sweet enough to give me permission to blog about her recipe. Thank you very much Magicalrain!

These cinnamon rolls are called Special Cinnamon Rolls. I forgot to ask her why. I can guess though. Maybe its cuz they make soooo much that they should be for special occasions? When I started making them, I didn't really think much about the quantity. But when I was done, I was wondering...

What the hell am I going to do with 24 cinnamon rolls?!

Oh God! I'm going to gain 20 lbs TODAY!

Oh man...these are soooo damn good!

Do I have to share them????

But I was a good girl and I took them to work with me on Monday and shared.

I will post this recipe in 3 parts. The Dough. The filling. The glaze.

We shall begin with the dough. Don't pay attention to the raisins in the picture. They didn't belong there. Not sure how they got there. Guess they weren't paying attention to their cue and showed up for the wrong photo shoot. raisins...go figure. (Not the brightest fruit in the cupboard.)

The Dough

2 packets or 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110' - 115')

8 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 of a small packet of instant vanilla pudding mix*

2 cups warm milk (110' - 115')

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup butter, melted (wait until towards the end of the second rising time to melt the butter)

*The recipe called for 1 pack of 3/4 oz pudding mix but I couldn't find that packet. And my scale doesn't weigh that small of an amount so I improvised. Its just pudding so I knew it wouldn't "harm" the recipe if I was off on the measurement.

In a large mixing bowl (keeping in mind that 8 cups of flour will be mixed in this bowl), combine the yeast with the warm water. Let it dissolve for 5 minutes.

Add the flour, salt, pudding mix, milk, eggs, sugar and oil (basically everything except for the butter). and mix well but do not knead.

I started off with a spoon but quickly discarded that idea and just dove in. Go ahead, play with that ewwy goooey sticky mess. Just don't knead it.

Place the mess into a greased bowl, turning to make sure its all greased up....

Cover and let rise, in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Should take about an hour.

(meanwhile, watch a bit of Paula Deen or Rachael Ray or something. Or read blogs)

Its also probably a good time to mix up ......

The Filling

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine all the filling ingredients and try not to be tempted to stuff it into your face by the handful.

Lets see....is the dough done yet?

hmmm....I don't think so. Lets give it 15 more minutes.

waiting waiting waiting....peak...

Oh ya...thats goooooood!

Punch down the dough........

Ok, honestly....how many of you totally love doing that?!! except now, it's kinda looking like my belly and I just punched myself in the belly button.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface (this is why I totally love my granite counter tops!!). Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 12" x 8" rectangle.

Now take that melted butter and brush each of the rectangles with it. Sprinkle the filling over the dough....

Roll each rectangle into a log, along the long side. Pinch the seam tightly to seal

Slice each log into 12 rolls and place onto 2 greased 9" x 13" baking pans.

Cover and let rise till nearly doubled....about 45 minutes.

Check these babies out.....

Its getting exciting now... I mean, I've been working on these suckers for over 2 hrs now! whew!

Bake (yeah!!!! finally!!!) in a 350' oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until nice and golden brown.....

Did you have any idea that these would be so BIG??? I certainly didn't. I mean, its as big as my hand!!!! (somehow, this is sounding vaguely familiar but I don't think it has anything to do with cinnamon rolls)

And now for the piece de resistance.....

The Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

2 - 4 tablespoons milk

4 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Before I continue...I have to make a confession. The original recipe for the glaze was 1/2 the amount that I just listed. And thats how much I made.

To begin with.

But it only covered 1/2 of the rolls.

Maybe I'm just a total glaze hound....I dunno. If you're not, then by all means, halve the recipe and skimp on the glaze.....see if I care! Don't come crawling back to me if it's not enough. Don't say I didn't warn you.....you're on your own.

uuuh ummm....ok, back to the recipe. Combine the glaze ingredients aaaaaand drizzle over the rolls......if some of the glaze accidently drizzles into your mouth....we'll just keep it to ourselves. shhhhh

Cool in the pans on a wire rack.

ENJOY!!!!

And one more little side note....one of my favorite food bloggers, Girlichef is having a giveaway...Pillsbury freebies for their new cookie dough (healthier version) and some other fun stuffs....so go check it out (you have until noon on 8/4/09 to enter). Even if you're not interested in the freebies, she has some awesome recipes.